Mastermind of 2007 politician murders arrested

Manuel Castillo, the alleged "intellectual author" of the murder in February 2007 of 3 Salvadoran deputies to the Central American parliament as well as their driver, has been arrested. The 2007 murders in Guatemala have been tied to narcotics trafficking.

Castillo had been identified months ago for his role in the murders. He was a deputy in the Guatemalan legislature and the elected mayor of the Guatemalan town of Jutiapa in a region police say is dominated by drug smugglers.

Although the supposed mastermind of the murders has been arrested, and much is known about how the murder took place, there are still many unanswered questions about the link between the Salvadoran politicians and the Guatemalan criminal ring which wanted them dead. The answers to those questions, if the answers ever come, will shed light on how pervasive the corrupting influence of drug money has become in El Salvador.

Comments

Anonymous said…

This case testifies to how corrupt the official government of ES has become in the absence of a system of check and balances which could be provided by the FMLN once in power (essential to any living democracy). Still, I wonder about how effective the official Salvadoran government could be if it continued on the course that it is on now? Perhaps more poverty and economic neglect—where is its investment in industry? Information Technology? Fundamentally, the Guatemalan case brings to bare the question of WHO REALLY IS at the root of ordering the assassination of the ARENA politicians: was it ARENA officials tied to the drug cartel or the FMLN regime due to historical reasons and why? How would either of these organizations benefit from such assassination?

I agree with Anonymous. But as we all know well even the invincible, almighty US has corrupt officials and has had major scandal. Think JFK. Although the presence of FMLN with eliminate alot of corruption in the ES government, it will still continue no matter who is in office. Politics and corruption, at times, seem to go hand in hand. Unfortunate as it is, sometimes it can be for a good cause.